Shopping online isn’t just convenient, it can save you a lot of money too. It’s a lot easier to find deals from the comfort of your home than it is physically visiting stores. You can even find deals at the stores you’d shop in-person by buying online and picking up in-store.
Here are 18 great online shopping hacks to save you money.
1. Leave items in your cart
If you find something you want, but the price is a bit higher than you wanted to spend, put it in your cart and leave it there. Exit the site and let it sit for a few days. Like magic, you’ll likely receive reminder emails about your ‘abandoned cart’ and oftentimes the reminder includes a special discount to save money on your purchase.
2. Search for coupons before checking out
One of the best things about shopping online is it’s easy to find coupons. You don’t have to worry about clipping coupons or having certain deals activated. Just head to Koopy and search for the store you plan to shop at to see if there’s a coupon available.
It takes only a few seconds to find the latest promo codes for your online shopping, allowing you to save money on your purchases.
3. Compare prices online before checking out
When you shop online, you can ‘window shop’ at as many stores as you want in a matter of minutes. If you want to cut corners, search the item you want to buy in Google and look at the top results. You may find the same item cheaper elsewhere just by using this trick.
A few of the top price comparison sites include Shopping.com, Price Grabber, and Shopzilla.
4. Check Amazon before buying from another retailer
A majority of the items you buy at specific retailers can likely be bought at Amazon too. It’s always a good idea to search for the same item on Amazon to see if they have a better deal. Since there may be multiple sellers selling the same item on Amazon, you may be able to save a little money and if you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping too.
5. Sign up for newsletters for your favorite retailers
Most retailers offer savings for signing up for their newsletter. For example, if you sign up for the Kohl’s newsletter, you’ll save 15% off your next order.
Before you do this, I suggest setting up a separate email for the retailer’s emails. You’ll get a lot of them, and you don’t want to clog up your personal email. Occasionally monitor the emails to look for other deals that are exclusive to newsletter subscribers too.
6. Use different email addresses to get more coupons to the same retailer
If you want to take advantage of a welcome offer from the same retailer, sign up for the newsletters with another email. Again, this works best if you have ‘junk’ email addresses or if your email program filters the promotional emails out from your ‘important’ emails otherwise it can get tedious.
7. Sign up for text alerts from your favorite retailers
If you don’t mind receiving promotional texts, share your phone number with retailers and you’ll save money on your next purchase. For example, Bed Bath & Beyond will give you a promo code to save 20% off your next purchase if you sign up for text alerts.
The good thing is you can opt out of the text alerts at any time. You could even sign up for the alerts, use your coupon and then cancel the alerts. You won’t be able to use the offer again, though if you want to get another coupon.
8. Check your debit or credit card for cashback opportunities
Many credit card companies and even banks offer cashback opportunities for certain purchases. For example, Discover is offering 5% cashback at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com from October – December.
Each credit card has different categories or retailers it pays cardholders rewards for spending on. If you have rewards credit cards or can get one and use it responsibly, it’s like getting paid to shop.
If you prefer not to use credit cards, your bank may offer a similar program with your debit card. PNC, for example, has weekly offers you can activate. Once you satisfy the purchase requirement, they give you cashback in your checking account.
9. Sign up for subscriptions for commonly purchased items
If you buy the same items repeatedly from the same retailer, see if they offer a subscription service. Most stores offer a 5% – 10% discount if you sign up for a subscription.
This means you’d sign up to receive the product on a regular basis. Most stores allow you to pause, skip, or cancel the subscription at any time.
10. Find out how to get free shipping
Every store has a different threshold for free shipping. At Amazon, for example, if you aren’t a Prime member, shipping is free over $25. Some stores have higher thresholds, but offer free shipping promos periodically.
If you can’t figure out how to get free shipping on the store’s website, check for a free shipping promo code online – they often exist, but you just have to take a minute or two to look for them.
Also, on Koopy.com we provide information about which stores offer free shipping and how to get it, what you’ll need to do is visit the store main page on Koopy, for example, visit Target’s offers page on Koopy, at the top you’ll look for a label indicating that the store offers “Free Shipping”, click on the label for more details:
11. Use filler items to get free shipping
If you are short on your order to get free shipping, find filler items. This works best if you are $5 or less short. You’ll pay much less for the filler items than you would for shipping and you get a few ‘fun items’ in your order.
12. Follow your favorite retailers on social media
Most big-name retailers and even small businesses have social media pages. Follow them for exclusive deals and sales. They’ll often share a code that’s only for those who follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, or even Snapchat.
13. Follow influencers to get discount codes
Get to know influencers online and the retailers they love. When you follow them on social media, you may have access to exclusive deals and promo codes to save on your favorite items.
14. Buy gift cards to your favorite retailers on discount
If you know where you want to shop, try to score discounted gift cards. Raise.com is a great place to search for the hottest deals on gift cards. Sometimes you might only get 1% off, but you may also come across some great deals.
If you prefer to buy gift cards in person, Target offers Redcard holders 5% off all purchases including gift cards.
15. Wait for a sale, especially around the holidays
If you have your eye on something but it’s not on sale and there isn’t a coupon available, wait for a major holiday. Online retailers run sales often, but you’ll find the largest savings around Labor Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Black Friday, Christmas, and Mother’s Day.
16. Shop on Wednesdays or Fridays for the best deals
If you’re looking for the best deals, shop on Wednesdays or Fridays. This is when retailers tend to run flash sales or mark products down the most.
17. Use chatbots to get the best deals
If you can’t find a deal at a store, don’t be afraid to use the chatbot function to ask for a better price or coupon. You can also use chatbots to price match, or adjust a price after you already bought something.
The nice thing about chatbots is they answer instantly. You don’t have to sit on hold or wait for a call back in most cases.
18. Join store loyalty programs
Many stores offer their loyal shoppers discounts. Target, for example, gives its RedCard holders 5% back on each purchase. Other stores keep track of your purchases and send you a reward when you reach a certain threshold. Hollister, for example, has their Club Cali program that pays 100 points for every $1 you spend. Once you have 12,500 points, you can redeem it for $5 off your next order.
FAQs – Online Shopping Hacks
What is the best way to save money shopping online?
Always comparison shop and search for a coupon before checking out when shopping online. You aren’t wasting time driving from store to store and there’s no cost to search for a coupon. It may take you a few extra minutes, but it could save you a decent amount of money.
How do you control impulse buying when shopping online?
Impulse buying is a downside of shopping online. Before you look, create a 48-hour rule with yourself. Create a list of what you need to buy. If you find something that isn’t on your list that you want, set it aside for 24 hours. You can even put it in your cart and abandon it, you may catch a deal. If after 48 hours you still want the item, then figure out how to make it work in your budget.
What are some tips for safe online shopping?
Before you shop at a new store, make sure it’s legit. Search for the name in Google and see what comes up. Also when you visit the store’s website, make sure you see the secure ‘lock’ in the left-hand corner.
Don’t shop when you’re on public WiFi or when others can see the information you’re entering. Also, use a credit card, not a debit card when you shop online. If your information gets stolen, you’ll have more protection with a credit card.
What are some Black Friday online shopping tips?
The biggest Black Friday online shopping tip is to shop early. For example, this year Walmart already released their Black Friday pricing and it’s not even Thanksgiving. Each store offers its deals differently. Some do a countdown to Black Friday, others offer an early sneak peek, and let others make you wait until the big day.
Final Thoughts – Online Shopping Hacks
Don’t spend more than necessary when shopping online. These online shopping hacks are easy for anyone to use and can save you money on your purchases.
Use one or all and see how much money you can save.
